Sunday, January 13, 2013

Just wanted to let you know that we found out the Ministry of Women's Affairs has not issued our "consent" yet.

HUGE Bummer.

According to our case worker, there is no reason as to why they haven't issued the consent in our case, other than they are "understaffed" (-per MOWA) and cannot work through all of the adoption consents as quickly as they would like.

That being said, our case is still in adjournment until our consent is filed with the courts. Once that happens, we will be notified of our court date.

...praying this happens soon. Very soon.

"I am STILL confident of this: I WILL see the goodness of The Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for The Lord." ~ Psalm 27:13-14

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Half a world away, in the capital city of Ethiopia, 2 boys will soon be part of a family. Soon they will have a mom and a dad. Soon there will be no uncertainties about about their acceptance, their self worth, or if they'll ever experience the love of a family. Soon they will be HOME.

**While some of you have already heard the news,

this is what I've been bursting at the seams to share! **

Two of our closest friends, Sarah & Jordan, recently received their referral for 2 boys from Ethiopia and we couldn't be more thrilled for them! You may remember this family; just about 2 years ago I had posted about their family being matched with a sibling set of 4 for a domestic adoption. This adoption was an emotional roller coaster of faith and trust for every member of their family. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the finalization took much longer than either Sarah or Jordan (or the kids) would have liked, but this past November, they were (legally) made a forever family.

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While working through this adoption, Sarah and Jordan became deeply convicted toward the plight of the orphan, and the biblical mandate to care for them. Their hearts couldn't bear the thought of saying "no" when they believe that we're called to say "yes" if God commands us to do something. So they began the process to Ethiopia...less than 2 months later, they've received their referral and they are scrambling to complete all of the necessary paperwork to bring home their newest family members, 2 biological brothers, ages 11 & 12.

Here's a super exciting fact...their sons are in THE SAME ORPHANAGE as our boys!! How cool is that? I couldn't believe it when she told me the news earlier this week. The magnitude of that thought runs deep.

As two families, we live states apart, but our 4 boys are eating, playing, and sleeping in the exactsame building.

In Africa.

Another amazing thing about this situation is that JT and I will have the privilege of meeting/hugging/playing with them when we go over, and Sarah has asked us to "introduce" the boys to their family through a photo album she's creating. What an absolute honor! Honestly, I'm not sure I'll be able to do an adequate job with this task, as I'm sure I'll be bawling my eyes out the moment we meet them. I'm in tears just thinking about it. Can you imagine showing two adolescent boys, pictures of a family-- THEIR family? In an orphanage, by their age, most children succumb to the fact that they most likely will not be adopted; but life is going to be different for these 2 boys and we get to be a part of it. I'm in total awe of all the details unfolding before our eyes and feel so blessed to be woven into this adoption story. I don't believe that it's coincidence that their referral happened so quickly, or that all 4 boys just "happen" to be at the same orphanage at the same time. God has truly been working at our hearts (as individuals and as couples) to recognize and call out the need for orphan care and I believe He is using this connection between our families to propel our holy discontent toward something greater for His glory.

“I believe that the motivating reason why millions of people choose to do good in the world around them is because there is something wrong in that world…something so wrong that they can’t stand it.” ~ Bill Hybels (in his book "Holy Discontent")

While we have no idea how God is going to use us; we do believe he is using each of our adoption experiences to break our hearts and mold them for something bigger than we can imagine. Something only He can do. Please keep our friends in your prayers as they work at lightning speed to complete the necessary paperwork for their adoption, and continue to pray for us to keep our eyes on God's plan for our lives. If we've learned anything through the past few years, it's that we truly can't do anything on our own, but only through faith and trust in the plan our Father has in store for us.Love you, Ames Family and can't wait to see how your story continues to unfold!

Monday, January 7, 2013

So it's been 2 months and 16 days since we first saw their sweet little faces smiling at us from our computer screen. That's 110,698 minutes of wondering what they're personalities are like, what they're doing, what they're learning...

I had been putting off posting because I thought surely by now, I could post with our court date...the day we've been longing for...the day we will build our travel arrangements around, to finally - FINALLY! - meet our boys.

But we're still awaiting our date. This wednesday (Jan. 9th), our attorney in Ethiopia has his adjournment with the judge to review our case and go over the boys' files. If the Ministry of Women's Affairs has issued our consent, we should find out our court date within the following week. Please pray that they have issued their consent for our case and that it is in the judge's hand by the time of our adjournment. We've had so many delays over the past 2 years (all totally out of our control), that the thought of another one makes my stomach turn. We just want to see them and hold them.SO.badly.

Please join us in praying that our consent will be in the judges hand by Wednesday. Looking forward to filling you all in our date!

(**We have some pretty exciting news to share, but it's not ours to share just yet...check back soon, I think you'll agree that it's pretty awesome!**)